‘Fun and sexy’ social media could get you in trouble

Advisers are jumping into the attractive proposition of social media interaction without understanding the full business implications. Here are the basics you need to get right first…

This is the warning that was issued by First Step Communications CEO Gihan Perera as he addressed last month’s Synchron NextGen7 conference in Cairns.

He noted that, although social media offers advisers outstanding opportunities to build their brands, demonstrate thought leadership and attract new business, social media marketing is wasted if advisers have ineffective or non-existent websites.

His message was a simple one: a website is the foundation on which social media marketing must be built.

“People try to jump straight into social media, because it’s fun and sexy and the flavour of the moment,” he said. “But if you don’t have a website and an associated blog and client newsletters that feed into your website, then much of your social media activity will be wasted.”

“People think that creating a website takes a long time and a lot of money,” he addedd. “The truth is that it used to take a long time and a lot of money, but with the creation of online web content solutions – and there are many great solutions available now – it doesn’t have to.”

He noted that advisers that are worries about the cost of web development can actually put together a professional-looking website using online solutions for around $8 per month.”

“The solutions are designed so that you can upgrade to a more sophisticated website if you want to further down the track,” he explained.